Tim ‘the Tool Man’ Taylor’s Grunt

From the man who brought the world the man’s kitchen, the man’s bedroom and the man’s bathroom on the fictional cable home show Tool Time, comes the manliest of all nonverbal expressions: the grunt. On Home Improvement, the accident-prone Tim “the Tool Man” Taylor (Tim Allen) gave everything from cars to simple household appliances “more power” and created an entire language of grunts. It’s a simple, yet hearty expression that can mean almost anything. There’s the “I am man, hear me roar” growl, which bears striking similarity to the “I am so manly I can’t even believe it” roar. Then there’s the “Oh-ho-ho-ho, look who’s right for once” woof and, of course, the grunt of utter confusion “Uh-huuuh?” that book-ended the show’s theme song.